Free Republic

Wind farms in this corner of Wyoming have killed more than four dozen golden eagles since 2009, one of the deadliest places in the country of its kind. But so far, the companies operating industrial-sized turbines here and elsewhere that are killing eagles and other protected birds have yet to be fined or prosecuted - even though every death is a criminal violation. The Obama administration has charged oil companies for drowning birds in their waste pits, and power companies for electrocuting birds on power lines. But the administration has never fined or prosecuted a wind-energy company, even those that...

HiViz Shooting Systems, a gun-parts manufacturer in Fort Collins, Colo., will move its operations up the road to Laramie, Wyo., making good on its threat to pull up its Colorado roots after Gov. John Hickenlooper signed into law several controversial gun control measures earlier this year. Of the businesses planning to leave the state for the same reason, HiViz is the first to announce its new home. “The decision to relocate the company was difficult, and choosing the proper location was essential to our continued growth within the industry,” said president and CEO Phillip Howe in a press release. “We...

DENVER — A Colorado firearms company has found a new home across the border in Wyoming, protesting the recent passage of restrictive new guns laws. HiViz Shooting Systems announced Thursday that it will move its core operations from Fort Collins, Colo., to Laramie, Wyo. That’s about an hour’s drive, but light years away in terms of state gun policy. HiViz becomes the first gun-related manufacturing company to pick up stakes since Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper signed three sweeping gun-control laws in March. Other firearms manufacturers, including Magpul Industries, have indicated that they will relocate in response to the legislation. Colorado...

<p>A well-known female liberal blogger and radio host at the University of Wyoming (UW) is being accused by police of fabricating a rape threat against herself to appear as if it came from a conservative.</p> <p>The obscene message directed at activist Meg Lanker-Simons was posted on a college “crush” Facebook page earlier this week and immediately ignited outrage from the college community.</p>

A University of Wyoming student targeted by an anonymous Facebook posting that included a threat of sexual violence had posted the item herself, police said. The university in Laramie, Wyoming announced on Tuesday that campus police cited Meg Lanker-Simons for misdemeanor interference with a police investigation by giving false statements. The posting that threatened Lanker-Simons occurred on a Facebook forum for UW students, leading to an outcry and an investigation by UW police because it was directed at a student. The Facebook page, which is not officially affiliated with the university, was taken down and a student-led demonstration against sexual...

A grant of $10 million in Wyoming produced zero jobs, no results, and plush salaries.Two Elks Energy Park in Wyoming What kind of project pays a couple of politically connected people hundreds of thousands of dollars for producing next to nothing? An Obama stimulus project, of course. More than four years after President Barack Obama signed the $787 billion stimulus package into law, troubling details continue to emerge. Earlier this month, for example, the nonprofit news site WyoFile reported that a $10 million stimulus project in Wyoming has been suspended and referred to the U.S. Attorney’s office for an investigation...

Harry Reid and Wal-Mart hope nobody will notice their online revenue raid. Every time Congress has taken a serious look at proposals to boost Internet sales taxes, it has rejected them. That's probably why pro-tax Senators are trying to rush through an online tax hike with as little consideration as possible. As early as Monday, the Senate will vote on a bill that was introduced only last Tuesday. The text of this legislation, which would fundamentally change interstate commerce, only became available on the Library of Congress website over the weekend. And you thought ObamaCare was jammed through Nancy Pelosi's...

A plan to drop a recognizable logo in this part of the country — the Forest Service’s iconic shield — generated so much outrage among the agency’s retirees that the idea has been dropped. In early January, the U.S. Department of Agriculture quietly introduced a policy to phase out all of its sub-agencies’ logos, including the Forest Service’s, and replace them with the USDA symbol. But that policy was kept so under wraps that not even Pacific Northwest forest supervisors were told. Some of them only heard about it in retrospect late last week — after the USDA had decided,...

Maryland's decision last month to raise its gasoline tax highlights a trend taking shape across the country: States are increasingly opting to raise gas taxes and other fees to fund road repairs and maintenance. Gasoline consumption is down nationwide, thanks to more fuel-efficient vehicles and the slow pace of the economic recovery. Gas taxes also have mostly stayed constant in nominal terms, even as the cost of road repairs and construction rises in line with inflation or faster. The combination means money for roads—usually drawn from gas taxes—is increasingly falling short of what is needed. The gas-tax increases come on...

Last week I reached out to Duane Liptak, Director of Product Management and Marketing at Magpul Industries Corporation. After Colorado Democrats signed new gun control rules into law Magpul promised to move operations from the anti-gun state. In our communications Liptak revealed the next steps for Magpul’s escape from Colorado. This is breaking news—- After weeks of bizarre testimony and protests, where lawmakers encouraged women to defend themselves with ballpoint pens and vomit, Colorado Democrats pushed through their new gun control laws last week. Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper signed three new gun bills into law on Wednesday. But, before the...

At least four states won’t enforce new sweeping insurance market reforms rolling out next year with the health law — leaving federal health officials in Washington to pick up the slack, yet another wrinkle in Obamacare implementation. Insurance regulation is a huge responsibility that’s been closely guarded by the states. That’s why the Obama administration and those closely watching the rollout of Obamacare believe that even states that have sworn off the law’s coverage expansions will still enforce its new measures — including new benefit mandates, cost-sharing guidelines and rules on how insurers rate customers — to retain control over...

Today, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced that 10 states will receive funding to turn around their persistently lowest-achieving schools through the Department's School Improvement Grant (SIG) program. Four of the states will receive awards to run a new competition for previously unfunded schools, and six states will receive continuation funds for the third year of implementing a SIG model. The states receiving new awards are: Indiana—$9.2 million; Nebraska—$2.6 million; Colorado—$5.2 million; and Louisiana—$9.6 million. The states receiving continuation awards are: Alaska—$1.5 million; Iowa—$3.0 million; North Dakota—$1.2 million; Oklahoma—$5.5 million; Texas—$49.7 million; and Wyoming—$1.1 million. "When schools fail, our...

US House Energy and Commerce Committee members released a discussion draft of legislation designed to jump-start approval of the proposed Keystone XL crude oil pipeline project. The draft bill by Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.) would eliminate the need for a presidential permit and find that the Aug. 26, 2011, final environmental impact statement issued by Sec. of State Hillary Clinton satisfied all National Environmental Policy Act requirements. Reps. Jim Matheson (D-Utah) and John Barrow (D-Ga.) cosponsored the proposal, which also would limit legal challenges to the project so it would not be delayed further. Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred...

You have to love when a Conservative politician stands their ground and tells a Liberal to go away. After Rev. Audette Fulbright wrote a letter to Representative Hans Hunt opposing concealed carry laws, he took into account that he’s a 4th generation citizen of Wyoming, and that in America people deserve the freedom to carry a gun – so he wrote back “By all means, leave” “Was it blunt? Yes. Would I apologize? No,” Hunt said in an interview with the Star-Tribune. He said later: “If I had to do it again, would I sit and think about how to...

CODY, Wyo. - Two teenage boys charged in a triple homicide in a small Wyoming town told investigators they stole handguns from a gun store and wanted to steal a black Audi SUV so they could escape to Denver. Stephen Hammer, 19, and 18-year-old Tanner Vanpelt made their first court appearance Tuesday morning in a case that rattled residents of the small town of Clark, near the Wyoming-Montana border. Each teen is charged with 11 felony counts, including premeditated murder, use of a deadly weapon and robbery. Some of the charges could carry the death penalty. Circuit Court Judge Bruce...

Multiple rural county sheriffs from Utah testified Thursday about the abusive use of police power by Bureau of Land Management rangers or forest protection officers with the U.S. Forest Service. They are asserting it is time to rein in the authority the agencies should have never been allowed to exercise. Sheriffs from San Juan, Kane and Garfield counties spoke in favor of HB155, sponsored by Rep. Mike Noel, R-Kanab, which proposes to limit BLM rangers and forest protection officers from exercising police power over state and local laws unless someone's safety is at risk or federal contracts are in place...

[Full title] ‘By All Means, Leave’: The Amazingly Blunt Response One State Rep. Gave a Citizen Who Wrote Him Opposing Concealed Carry in Schools Get out of here. That was one Wyoming state representative’s message to a resident who contacted him recently stating her opposition to a bill that would have allowed people with concealed carry permits to carry guns in public schools, colleges and sporting events. Rev. Audette Fulbright had emailed all state legislators, including Republican Rep. Hans Hunt, earlier this month to say she and her husband had just moved to Wyoming and were “seriously reconsidering” their decision...

In some areas of the United States, legislators are hard at work devising new laws to restrict the rights of law-abiding citizens to own and use firearms. But, in other areas, the opposite is happening. Take for example Wyoming where lawmakers have made it legal to hunt with suppressors. Here is a short announcement from the American Silencer Association. WYOMING: HUNTING WITH SUPPRESSORS BILL SIGNED INTO LAW New Law Goes Into Effect July 1, 2013 The American Silencer Association is pleased to announce that on February 18, Governor Matt Mead signed SF0132 into law, granting hunters in the state of...

The Wyoming House of Representatives has passed two right to carry improvement bills. House Bill 103, introduced by state Representative Allen Jaggi (R-19), would strengthen the state’s authority over firearm laws while prohibiting counties from enacting their own ordinances in clear violation of the current state firearms preemption statute. House Bill 105, also introduced by Rep. Jaggi, would allow law-abiding citizens to carry a concealed firearm in more locations. Both of these bills now await committee assignment in the Senate. Please contact Senate President Ross and politely request that he assign these important pro-gun bills to a favorable Senate committee....

The Hage family last Thursday filed a writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court, appealing a claims court judgment that stripped away part of their $14 million award in a suit against the U.S. Forest Service over grazing rights in Monitor Valley. Nye County Commissioner Lorinda Wichman said Tuesday she’s afraid the ruling by a court of appeals for the federal circuit overturning part of the judgment in the Wayne Hage case — that only hand tools are allowed to be used to maintain roads in the national forest — could jeopardize the $250,000 the county spent on the...

Charlotte, NC --(Ammoland.com)- The Wyoming Senate Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee voted 4 to 1 in favor of a pro-hunting reform authored by Senator Ogden Driskill (R-1). Senate File 132 would repeal the state prohibition on hunting with sound suppressors (which are additionally regulated under federal law) while providing additional penalties for those who use them illegally. This bill is now eligible for a vote in the full Senate. A date for this Senate floor vote has not been scheduled at this time but please call and e-mail your state Senator urging him or her to vote in...

This week, Wyoming lawmakers introduced a bill banning the federal government from enforcing an assault weapons ban or a prohibition on high-capacity magazines in the state, calling the effort an attempt to “take the Second Amendment seriously.” The bill, which is sponsored by eight Wyoming state representatives and two state senators, calls for federal agents who attempt to enforce those measures to be imprisoned for at least one year and up to five years, and fined a maximum of $5,000. It also contains broad language prohibiting any “public servant … or dealer selling any firearm in this state” from enforcing...

By Mr. Curmudgeon:"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."~ 10th Amendment to the United States Constitution.Many Americans mistakenly define the above as "states rights." States have no rights ... people do. As the Declaration of Independence states, "...Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." The purpose of that power is first and foremost to "secure" the individual "rights" of every free man and woman.The state legislature of Wyoming is considering a bill...

CHEYENNE — Some Wyoming lawmakers are pushing to pre-empt any federal crackdown on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in the aftermath of last month's school shooting in Connecticut. A bill pending in the Wyoming Legislature would specify that any federal limitation on guns would be unenforceable. It also would make it a state felony for federal agents to try to enforce restrictions. The bill comes as Vice President Joe Biden is set to deliver gun-control proposals to President Barack Obama on Tuesday. Obama has said reducing gun violence is a top priority following the massacre of 20 children and six...

Wyoming lawmakers propose bill to nullify new federal gun laws January 10, 2013 | 11:03 am 202Comments Charlie Spiering Commentary Staff Writer The Washington Examiner Wyoming lawmakers have proposed a new bill that, if passed, would nullify any federal restrictions on guns, threatening to jail federal agents attempting to confiscate guns, ammunition magazines or ammunition. The bill – HB0104 – states that “any federal law which attempts to ban a semi-automatic firearm or to limit the size of a magazine of a firearm or other limitation on firearms in this state shall be unenforceable in Wyoming.” The bill is sponsored...

A new front is opening in the Senate confirmation fight over former Sen. Chuck Hagel as senators from states with nuclear bases are questioning the defense secretary nominee’s role in the Global Zero commission that advocates eliminating all nuclear weapons and making unilateral strategic arms cuts. Six senators with home-state nuclear bases or membership on the Senate Armed Services Committee said they are either opposing Hagel’s nomination or questioning his judgment for backing the international anti-nuclear movement. Hagel is among some 300 international and national public figures supporting the group’s stated goal of seeking “the elimination of all nuclear weapons.”...

Wyoming lawmakers have proposed a new bill that, if passed, would nullify any federal restrictions on guns, threatening to jail federal agents attempting to confiscate guns, ammunition magazines or ammunition.

Several Wyoming lawmakers are proposing legislation designed to protect gun-owners from any potential federal firearm ban. The “Firearms Protection Act” bill, introduced this week, would make any federal law banning semi-automatic firearms or limiting the size of gun magazines unenforceable within the state’s boundaries. Anyone trying to enforce a federal gun ban could face felony charges under the proposal. It also includes a provision allowing the Wyoming Attorney General’s office to defend any state resident against any federal firearm ban.

CHEYENNE -- Proposals to loosen gun regulations are likely to emerge when the Legislature convenes in early January. The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting is spurring national leaders to call for tighter federal gun-control laws. But several Wyoming legislators say they are planning to sponsor legislation that would do the opposite. Incoming Speaker of the House Tom Lubnau, R-Gillette, said he is drafting legislation that would end gun-free zones. He said he still is working on the details and the bill has not yet been filed. But he said it could include allowing teachers and other staff to have guns...

A gunman retreated from a Casper nail salon last week after realizing one of its customers was packing heat. Police say about 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 3, a man walked into Modern Nails at 2645 E. Second St. and asked a female employee if she wanted to buy some diamonds. The man walked toward the front desk area and the woman replied that she had no money to buy diamonds. A witness said the man then reached into his coat pocket and began to take out a silver-colored pistol. At that moment, a woman who was getting her nails done...

A gunman retreated from a Casper nail salon last week after realizing one of its customers was packing heat. Police say about 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 3, a man walked into Modern Nails at 2645 E. Second St. and asked a female employee if she wanted to buy some diamonds. The man walked toward the front desk area and the woman replied that she had no money to buy diamonds. A witness said the man then reached into his coat pocket and began to take out a silver-colored pistol. At that moment, a woman who was getting her nails done...

New legislation that jumps the death tax to 55 percent of estates exceeding $1 million threatens 526,421 family farms, of about 25 percent of all farms in America. ... Farm values are largely tied up in non-liquid assets like land, buildings, and livestock. Many farm and ranch families would be forced to sell their assets to satisfy Washington Democrats' insatiable appetite for tax money. Up to 24 percent of America's farm and ranch families could be forced to hand over a large chunk of their heritage to the Internal Revenue Service when a family member dies. This would economically devastate...

Grand County companies whose owners signed a letter to President Obama supporting federal protection for 1.4 million acres surrounding Canyonlands National Park are facing an economic boycott that some say has been spurred by the locally-based Sagebrush Coalition. The coalition’s Facebook page includes a list of local and national companies that signed the Nov. 13 letter from the Outdoor Industry Association urging Obama to create the Greater Canyonlands National Monument. ... Sagebrush Coalition president James Tibbetts ... opposes monument status for land around Canyonlands National Park because it isn’t necessary. “We’ve used it all these years and we haven’t ruined...

What is going on at Yellowstone? Looking at the helicorder for Norris Junction for the past couple of days they either have a severely malfunctiong seismograph machine or something big is affecting the area. Any thoughts from those who watch this area? Is this normal?

Casper College Incident -snip- Investigation has revealed that Chris Krumm stabbed Heidi Arnold to death at the residence on Hawthorne prior to driving to Casper College where he carried a compound bow and two knives, covered by a blanket, into the Wold Physical Science building. Once inside, he stepped into Professor Krumm’s classroom and shot his father in the head with an arrow, knocking him to the ground. Despite being mortally wounded, James Krumm got up and fought with his attacker enabling the students in the room to escape unharmed; an incredible act of courage and heroism to say the...

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Wyoming lawmakers will decide in coming months whether to follow a growing national trend and allow the use of silencers on hunting guns.

Casper police say three are dead stemming from an attack at Casper College this morning. Casper Police Chief Chris Walsh said there were two dead at the school's Wold Physical Science Center and one dead at another location in Casper, although he wouldn't identify the dead or the other location. No suspects are at large and nobody else was injured, Walsh said. Asked about speculation that a bow and arrow were used in the attack, Walsh wouldn't identify what weapon or weapons were involved, although he said no firearms were used. Walsh said he'll hold another press briefing at the...

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — By now, voters here are over the initial shock. The ranchers, businessmen and farmers across this deep-red state who knew, just knew that Americans would never re-elect a liberal tax-and-spender president have grudgingly accepted the reality that voters did just that. But in the days since the election, a blanket of baffled worry has descended on conservatives here like early snow across the plains, deepening a sense that traditional, rural and overwhelmingly white states in the center of the country are losing touch with an increasingly diverse and urban American electorate. “It’s a fundamental shift,” said Khale...

the estate tax -- also known as the "death tax."... set to soar at the beginning of 2013 ... The estate tax dates back to 1916 when then-President Woodrow Wilson imposed the tax of 1 to 10 percent on the wealthy because World War I reduced federal government revenues. Under Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the tax rose to 77 percent, as Congress tried to prevent wealth from becoming concentrated among a few powerful and super-rich families. Ironically, many nations historically more concerned with class and wealth -- namely Russia and China -- have since abandoned their estate taxes.

The Interior Department on Friday issued a final plan to close 1.6 million acres of federal land in the West originally slated for oil shale development. The proposed plan would fence off a majority of the initial blueprint laid out in the final days of the George W. Bush administration. It faces a 30-day protest period and a 60-day process to ensure it is consistent with local and state policies. After that, the department would render a decision for implementation. The move is sure to rankle Republicans, who say President Obama’s grip on fossil fuel drilling in federal lands is...

The Interior Department on Friday issued a final plan to close 1.6 million acres of federal land in the West originally slated for oil shale development. The proposed plan would fence off a majority of the initial blueprint laid out in the final days of the George W. Bush administration. It faces a 30-day protest period and a 60-day process to ensure it is consistent with local and state policies. After that, the department would render a decision for implementation. The move is sure to rankle Republicans, who say President Obama’s grip on fossil fuel drilling in federal lands is...

The Interior Department on Friday issued a final plan to close 1.6 million acres of federal land in the West originally slated for oil shale development. The proposed plan would fence off a majority of the initial blueprint laid out in the final days of the George W. Bush administration. It faces a 30-day protest period and a 60-day process to ensure it is consistent with local and state policies. After that, the department would render a decision for implementation. The move is sure to rankle Republicans, who say President Obama’s grip on fossil fuel drilling in federal lands is...

One local diner might have to close its doors because of recent layoffs in the coal industry. ... "If business does not improve, we will be out of business by the end of the year." Cummings and her husband are the only people who cook, clean, serve, and work the cashier. One other person works part-time for the couple. They say they need to first see change within the presidential office in order to see change within their business, as their diner is highly dependent on the coal industry.

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 19, 2012 -- /PRNewswire/ -- On Sunday, September 30, 2012, California Auctioneers in Ventura, California, will auction off the Colt .45 SAA (Serial Number 158402) that belonged to Robert LeRoy Parker, better known as Butch Cassidy, the legendary bank thief, train robber, and leader of the Wild Bunch Gang—the notorious Wyoming-based bandits that stalked the American West throughout the 1890s. His legacy as an icon of the American Old West was immortalized in the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Known as the "Amnesty Colt," this is the most documented of Cassidy's guns. Hunted by...

Dear Friends, Tea Party Express, the nation’s largest Tea Party political action committee, announced the “Winning for America” national bus tour today. The tour will travel through 25 battleground states that are key to conservatives’ victories in November.For the complete tour schedule, click here. This week the President and his party will be bragging about their legislative success, and rightfully so. After an $825 billion dollar stimulus, Obamacare, Dodd-Frank, and the Auto Bailout, President Obama and the Democratic Congress got everything they wanted. The unfortunate truth is that these policies have failed to yield the results that were promised...

Tea Party Express Announces :"Winning for America" National Bus Tour 25 Battleground States in 21 Days Starting September 12thSacramento, CA – Tea Party Express, the nation’s largest tea party political action committee, announced the “Winning for America” national bus tour today. The tour will travel through 25 battleground states that are key to conservatives’ victories in November. Tea Party Express Chairman Amy Kremer said, “This week the President and his party will be bragging about their legislative success, and rightfully so. After an $825 billion dollar stimulus, Obamacare, Dodd-Frank, and the Auto Bailout, President Obama and the Democratic Congress got...

A Republican-controlled Senate in 2012 looks less likely than it did a few weeks ago, but the prospect for GOP gains is still quite solid. Of the 33 Senate seats up for grabs this cycle, seven are occupied by Democrats or Democrat-leaning independents who are not seeking reelection, three are occupied by Republicans who are not seeking reelection, 16 are occupied by Democrats seeking reelection, and seven are occupied by Republicans seeking reelection. This is the class of senators last elected in 2006, a midterm election that almost could not have gone worse for the GOP. A few recent developments...

Black Hills Corp. said Monday that its utilities will close some older coal-fired power plants because it would cost too much to bring them in compliance with new federal and state environmental regulations. The company said its Colorado Electric subsidiary will idle a plant in Canon City, Colo... The Black Hills Power subsidiary will suspend operations Aug. 31 at a coal-fired unit in Rapid City, S.D., and retire the plant in March 2014. It also plans to retire plants near Gillette and Osage, Wyo., in March 2014...

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The judge in a lawsuit filed by the widow of a man killed by a grizzly bear has decided not to view the mauling site near Yellowstone National Park in person on the advice of the U.S. Marshals Service, which has deemed the area too risky because of recent bear activity. ... A 430-pound grizzly killed Erwin F. Evert, of Park Ridge, Ill., six miles east of Yellowstone in June, 2010. The male grizzly had just reawakened after being trapped, tranquilized and studied by members of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team, which is tasked with researching...

PEWAUKEE- Thousands of people across our state have permission to conceal handguns, but many gun owners sounded off at a public hearing Wednesday concerning restrictions for permit holders. Less than a year after Wisconsin set its sights on concealed carry, authorities are now asking the public to weigh in on permanent rules and regulations. In just nine months, more than 118,000 people signed up for concealed carry permits -- using temporary rules that are soon to be made permanent. Authorities used a public hearing to discuss changes to the existing guidelines including: limiting class sizes and defining training, which right...